SW News: The Holy Father will be undergoing abdominal surgery under general anesthesia, said the Holy See Press office in a statement on Wednesday, June 7, after the pope was admitted to the Gemelli University Hospital in Rome. The pontiff was taken to hospital after his customary Wednesday General Audience.

In a statement, the Vatican press offices said Pope Francis will undergo a laparotomy and abdominal wall surgery. The procedure was “decided upon over the past few days by the medical team assisting the Holy Father”. It became necessary because of an incisional laparocele (hernia) that is causing recurrent, painful and worsening sub-occlusive syndromes,” the statement said.

The statement said that the Holy Father was slated to remain hospitalized for several days in order to have a normal post-operative course and full recovery.
Pope Francis venerated the relics of St Therese of the Child Jesus to whom he has a great devotion on Wednesday before the General Audience. He took to Twitter to seek prayers for the “grace to love Jesus as she loved Him, the grace to offer Him our trials and our sorrows, as she did, so that He might be known and loved by all.”

In March this year, the pope had to be admitted to Gemelli Hospital to be treated for an acute respiratory infection and he remained there for four days.  On July 4, 2021, the pontiff had to undergo abdominal surgery for diverticular stenosis of the colon. It was performed under general anesthesia as revealed by the pope himself and it caused him some discomfort. In 2019, the Holy Father had to undergo eye surgery at Pius XI Clinic in Rome to remove a cataract. He also lost a portion of one lung undergoing surgery following a severe pneumonia attack as a young man in Argentina.